Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of May 21, 2017
Two journalists arraigned, finance manager released A court in Istanbul arraigned Gökmen Ulu and Mediha Olgun, journalists for the secularist, nationalist daily Sözcü, one of the last remaining widely circulated newspapers to be consistently critical of the government, on charges of “committing a crime in the name of a [terrorist] organization without being a member,…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of October 2
Reporter arraigned on terrorism charges for Facebook posts The Mersin Court of Penal Peace last night arraigned Cemil Uğur, a reporter for the left-wing Evrensel newspaper, on charges of “being member of a [terrorist] organization,” and “propagandizing for a [terrorist] organization,” his employer reported. Police held Uğur for 16 days in August, before a court…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of August 28
Government revokes press credentials for 115 journalists Turkey’s General Directorate for Press, Broadcasting, and Information (BYEGM, by its Turkish acronym) — the bureau within the prime minister’s office responsible for accrediting journalists — today revoked the credentials of 115 journalists, Turkey’s official Anatolia News Agency reported. The government alleged the journalists were affiliated with the…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of June 26
Columnist freed pending trial Istanbul’s 14th Court of Serious Crimes today ordered Cumhuriyet columnist Ahmet Nesin released, pending trial, the pro-Kurdish daily newspaper Özgür Gündem reported. Police on June 20 arrested Nesin, Erol Önderoğlu, Turkey representative for the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and Şebnem Korur Fincancı, an academic, columnist and human rights…